AUBURN HILLS >> It’s returning to the scene of the crime, so to speak, the site of his ascension into college basketball lore in this state.

Oakland University product Kahlil “Kay” Felder was back in The Palace of Auburn Hills Monday, for the first time as a professional basketball player, coming with the Cleveland Cavaliers to play the Detroit Pistons in the same building where he made a name for himself.

A year and three days earlier, Felder torched then-No. 1-ranked Michigan State for 37 points and nine assists in a 99-93 overtime loss for Oakland.

“I would say that’s the game that put me on the map, honestly,” Felder said Monday, with a grin, recalling the spot where he hit a monumental 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds of regulation, to set up an eventual overtime session. “I’m going to have to go revisit that corner again, that one shot. I’m going to have to go see it.”

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A Detroit native and graduate of Pershing High School before starring for three years at Oakland, Felder was in a rush to get home, too. After the Cavaliers’ Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors, he begged coach Tyronn Lue to let him head home alone, rather than waiting for the team flight.

“I came up on my own. I asked coach Lue, just to make sure everything was OK. … Got in last night, so I got a little bit of time with (family) yesterday and today. It was pretty good to see them, and I’m sure I’ll see them after the game,” Felder said of his excitement. “Definitely. Come back home, see family and friends. It’s a beautiful thing. I love it.”

A third-team All-American and a finalist for the Wooden and Cousy awards, Felder led the nation in assists (9.3 per game) in his final year at OU, and ranked fourth in scoring (24.4). He finished with 1,765 career points (9th all-time at OU) and 788 assists (3rd all-time for Grizzlies) in 101 games played.

The second-round pick has played sporadically for the Cavaliers, however — no shock, considering the type of team he landed on. He was inactive or did not play in 15 of the 28 games for the Cavaliers, heading into Monday’s contest, and logged fewer than 10 minutes in seven of the 13 games he did play in.

“To continue to get better,” Lue said of Felder’s role as a rookie. “Every day, he comes and puts his work in. With a championship-caliber team, it’s tough to find minutes, but he’s been doing a great job.”

His best two games have come in the last two weeks, though, when he played 23:16 against Memphis, scoring a career-high 14 points. Two games later, he scored 11 points in 15:57 against Brooklyn.

Monday, he started 0-for-5 from the floor, but went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line to notch 11 points, his third time in double digits scoring as a pro.

“Just whenever my name is called, do whatever I can do, just get guys involved and be aggressive at all times, at either end of the floor,” Felder said, adding the advice he’d give his former teammates or kids at his old alma mater, Pershing. “Just like I would tell any other kid, even if I didn’t know them: Stay confident, don’t let nobody or anything get in your way. I feel like the only thing that can get in my way right now is me, and that’s me being down on myself or something like that. I won’t let that happen, so — just make sure you keep your head strong.”

As busy as he is with his own career, he still keeps up with both his old high school and his old college teams.

“They play tonight at 9. I wish I could be there. They play Chicago Orr,” Felder said of Pershing’s Motor City Roundball Classic game, which kept the Doughboys from attending Mondays’ game at The Palace.

He keeps up with his old Golden Grizzlies teammates, too.

“Most definitely. I keep in touch with Oakland and Pershing. I’m one of those, I feel like it’s only right — they was loyal to me, so I feel like I should be loyal to them,” Felder said, noting that he’s watched every Oakland game but one of them in the Great Alaska Shootout. “I’ve got it set to where, if they’ve got a game, and we’ve got a game, I can just replay it. I watch every game.”

“I was very hyped, because we were supposed to beat them when we was down at Georgia last year. But you know, things happen. I’m happy for them, you know,” Felder said. “They can take that knowledge and experience on to conference. They can take that roll with them.”

“Most definitely. But they’ve also showed this year that they’re more balanced. More guys can score the ball, more guys can do more than one thing, instead of just looking for me. I think they’ve got a couple of guys that can put the ball in the hole: You’ve got Stevie (Clark), Sherron (Dorsey-Walker), and Martez (Walker) — he gave Georgia, what, (30) the other night? You definitely see that they’re more balanced.”